Round Leaved Violet

Round Leaved Violet

Round-leaved violet is a yellow-flowered species, with the leaves and flowers arising from the base (stemless). Like many herbaceous plants of the eastern forests, round-leaved violet is dispersed by ants. The non-native invasive fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), which is spreading across the United States, also forages for ant-dispersed seeds. Experiments showed that when it collects seeds of round-leaved violet, 86% of them are destroyed in the process, far more than are destroyed when native ants collected them. In addition, fire ants were more likely to discard the seeds in sites unfavorable to germination.